The Rowi has only recently been identified as a distinct species - in 2003. It is distinguished from the brown Kiwi by its soft and slightly greyish plumage, sometimes accompanied by white facial feathers.
It is critically endangered and is found only in the Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary which covers about 11,000 hectares of dense lowland forest between Okarito and the Waiho River.
The white Kiwi was reared on predator free Motuara Island in Queen Charlotte Sound and was taken to a new home in Okarito Forest on the West Coast of the South Island by conservation Officer, Lyn Adams.
Brick red and very dark brown, almost black, individuals, are rarer than white Kiwi.
